God’s Word for Everything in Life

by Pastor Loi Catubig, 3 years ago

The Word of God (Holy Scripture) is for all people – the believers and unbelievers alike.

Our Lord Jesus Christ said, “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God,” (Matthew 4:4). Those who are living without having God in their lives need His Word to know the truth about Him and the way of salvation. And those who are now living in the new life in Christ need the Word of God as well to have a guide in righteous living. This is a reality of life; we need the Word of God to live today and in eternity. A life without His Word, is a life living in our own way; our own standards; our own direction; and our own will. This kind of life does not work for eternity.

Imagine a world without having the Word of God. What does it look like? It’s a world doing its own way. It’s a world with nations having different standards of morality. This is one of the causes of troubles and differences among nations. Let’s take a smaller picture; Imagine a life without having the Word of God. What does it look like? It’s a person doing his or her own way; setting his/her own standards; and doing what he/she wants in life. It’s a person trying to follow the Lord with his/her own terms and conditions. This kind of life never works in the sight of God.

The Word of God is very important in our life. It’s indispensable! We cannot live right without it. We can never be good in God’s sight without it because we can never satisfy His expectations with our own terms, conditions, and standards. We need it very badly! The great news about it; God’s Word is available for all people until today. It is just that many people have neglected it. It’s a sad news.

• Many people look at it as a book full of prohibitions, that’s why they think it will suppress their freedom
• Some people look at it as work of man, that’s why it is not perfect and unreliable
• Others look at it as good but they simply have no time to read it. They have problem with their interest and commitment

 

Regardless of the bad or good impressions of different people, let’s look at the absolute beauty of the Scripture. In 2 Timothy 3:16 it is said, “All Scripture is God-breathed . . .” It means, it is alive. It is full of life. It has divine ability to change life and to inspire people to do things right for the Lord. Apostle Paul used the term, “God-breathed.” He took this term from the creation story. He remembers how God created Adam. In Genesis 2:7 we can read, “The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” Hallelujah! This is incredible verse! The breath of God gives life. All of us receive life (became alive) through the breath of God.

Apostle Paul said, “All Scripture is God-breathed . . .”  It means, the Scripture is alive. It has divine power to change peoples’ lives and to move them to walk into God’s direction. It has the power to change evil hearts and turn to the Lord. It has the power to open the minds that are filled with lies. It has the power to lighten up or to unlock a darkened mind. We should not forget how God created the world. He created everything by His Word. He spoke the Words and everything came to be. The world and our own lives are evidence (proofs, living testimonies) how powerful are the words of God.  

To all of you who might have negative impressions about the Word of God, I encourage you, believe in God and embrace His Word. He will change your life.

What else? How God’s Word work in our lives? 2 Timothy 3:16 says, “. . . It is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness.” Let’s talk about teaching. What kind of stuff that we have to be educated about? Information, technology, current events, mathematical formula, chemical formula, structural designs, or the latest world news? What kind of stuff? The teaching that is referring to in this verse has something to do with righteousness – how we become right in God’s sight. The Bible is the only source that teaches us and leads us into righteousness of life in the sight of God. This is not to say that other information is bad or wrong or not needed. It simply says that to have our life become right with God, His Word is the only source of teaching that leads to a Godly life. The Holy Scripture will lead us to a life that is pleasing to the Lord.

Moreover, teaching is not all about information and head knowledge. Teaching here is a process of transforming the life of the person. One preacher in the past once said, “The Bible was not given to increase our knowledge, but to change our lives” (Dwight L. Moody). He is right. God’s Word is useful in teaching into righteousness.

Rebuking and correcting has something to do with our wrongdoings. Most of the people have the awareness of their imperfection, or fallibility, or moral and spiritual unreliability. But many people justify their moral and spiritual failures. Many people have their failures covered by asserting privacy and personal rights. “This is me and this is what I want, I don’t care what you say” they assert. Question: Who declares the rightness or goodness of things? God and His Holy Word!

When we recognize God as the God of our life and obey Him, we will come to His Holy Word to rebuke us and correct us and lead us to the right way. Godly people do not insist their own way. They will let His Word to correct their wrongdoings. Faithful believers of our Lord Jesus Christ, never justify wrongdoings. And more, we can never escape from the conviction of the Holy Spirit. We cannot deceive the Holy Spirit. We may deceive or flatter ourselves, but never can we deceive the Holy Spirit. When we do things that are not right with the Lord, our spirit will go restless. Faithful Christians, want wrongdoings to be corrected.

Even if we do not read the Word of God or we avoid it, the truth remains; What we do and not do are declared right or wrong in the light of the Word of God. The Bible is the absolute standard that determines the rightness or the wrongness of things we do or not do. That’s why if we do wrong things, the Word of God rebukes and corrects us. A Godly person does not avoid the Word of God. He/she loves it; reads it; lives by it; and has it to correct and rebuke him/her from sins or wrongdoings.   

Another use of the Word of God; Training in righteousness. Training in righteousness is like training a child. This implies a process where God teaches us how to deal with all of life. Just as parents work with their children over the years to train them in various graces, morals, relational skills, useful habits, right disciplines so God, through His Word, train us in all areas of life so that we can know and learn what pleases Him. If we embrace the Word of God, it will lead us into the way of living that pleases the Lord. We might fail and fall sometimes; but if we hang on to God and His Word, we will not be lost forever. God by His grace, power and His Word will enable us to stand up again.

What shall we do? Let’s read the Word of God; embrace it; love it; meditate on it; and live by it. God’s word is for everything in life. It is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness.

All of you who are reading the Word of God, continue. You have surpassed all temptations not to read it. All of You can testify how sweet it is. God will continue to bless you and lead you to a life that is more pleasing to Him. One person in the Book of Psalm who really loves the Word of God says, “How sweet are Your Words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth” (Psalm 119:103). Those who love and read the Word of God can testify how sweet it is and the more that they love it.

All of you who are struggling to find time to read it, break yourself with a new commitment this year to read and meditate the Word of God. Make time. Do not just wait for opportunities to come to be able to read it. Make opportunities for yourself to read it and meditate. How can you break your dilemma? Simple, sit down, get your Bible and read it. Turn off your devices, get your Bible and read it. Do it again tomorrow. And then do it every day.

Billions of people around the world love the Word of God. Don’t let yourself be left behind with struggles. They found joy and blessings in His Word. In effect, those billions of people made the Bible the bestseller of all time. According to Guinness Book of World Records, in 2015, the Bible is the bestseller. It has 5 billion copies. Aside from the Bible, the bestselling book is Don Quixote. It has 500 million copies.  Even this bestselling book was not able to surpass the Bible. What makes the Bible bestseller? The billions of people who read it; love it and meditate and who love it to be shared with others. Do not let yourself to be left alone still wallowing in your struggle in finding time to read your Bible and meditate on it.

For those who are not reading the Word of God regularly, the possible reason why you have failed is your little desire for it. Think about this inspiring statement from one great evangelist of the past who said, “The less we read the Word of God, the less we desire” (George Mueller). His point is clear, “read it and you will desire for more.” Find time; make opportunities; set aside time to read His Word.

To you who might have lost your spiritual fervor, you might not be aware that one of the reasons is your lack of time with the Word of God. Go back to the Word of God. Think about this, a fish when pulled out from the water will die. For the dying fish to be revived, it should be brought back to the water. To you who are experiencing spiritual malady, go back to the Word of God. Get your Bible again, read it; love it; embrace it; meditate on it; and live by it. God’s blessings are given to those who delight in His Word. In Psalm 1:1-4 we can read, “Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, 2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. 3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither - whatever they do prospers.”

Let’s keep on with His Word. We need it. It should affect every area of our life.